Study ranks SEC college towns by population size for 2025
Yahoo Sports • 1 min read • Latest: Aug 1, 2026, 10:09 AM
Last updated Aug 1, 2026
Yahoo Sports has published a ranking of the 16 SEC college towns based on their population as estimated for July 1, 2025. Austin, Texas, home to the University of Texas, tops the list with a population of 1,002,632, followed by Nashville, Tennessee, which hosts Vanderbilt University with a population of 721,074. Other notable towns include Lexington, Kentucky, and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, highlighting how the SEC features a mix of larger cities and smaller towns. The rankings aim to illustrate the diversity of environments surrounding these institutions.
- •Austin, Texas, ranks first with over 1 million residents.
- •Nashville and Lexington follow as significant urban centers.
- •Half of the SEC towns have populations between 100,000 and 150,000.
- •All population data is estimated from the U.S. Census.
- 10:09 AMYahoo Sports — Ranking SEC college towns by population from largest to smallest
"We ranked all 16 SEC college towns by population size to see which schools are in major cities versus small towns.
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